By Julie Waters
A POPULAR beach on the shores of Strangford Lough could become Ards and North Down’s 10th designated bathing water site under proposals backed by the borough council.
Councillors have thrown their support behind plans to seek official bathing water status for Whiterock, near Killinchy, as part of a wider package of measures aimed at improving water quality monitoring and public safety for swimmers and other sea users.
The move comes as the council endorsed a series of proposals contained in a Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) consultation, including extending the bathing season and providing more accessible information on water quality.
The council is the operator of seven beaches with dedicated bathing waters including Brompton, Ballyholme, Groomsport, Donaghadee, Millisle, Ballywalter and Cloughey. In addition, DAERA is the operator of Helen’s Bay and Crawfordsburn.
At present the official bathing season is just three and a half months, but under the new DAERA plans that will be expanded to seven months, running from April 1st until October 31.
This measure means bathing water quality would be monitored more frequently and public health protection measures put in place for longer.
DAERA currently monitors each of the bathing water sites on 20 occasions during the bathing season, and according to a council report, the plans are for ‘stable, consistently excellent bathing waters’ to be monitored less frequently and more testing for poorer quality waters.
The consultation also recommends that signs for each of the bathing waters should a QR (Quick Response) code linking swimmers directly to online water quality information.
However, the council report states the local authority’s environmental health service has already put these measures in place across the borough’s bathing water sites.
Following a poor water quality result, the council’s environmental health officers will put ‘no bathing’ signs at the sites and water quality results will then be published the week after the closure.
Addressing funding issues, the report went on to stress that ‘any extension to the bathing season or designation of additional bathing waters may have resource implications for water quality monitoring, signage and officer time’.
Council officials also said it was ‘worth noting’ that the local authority was not required to provide facilities, such as showers, at designated bathing waters, however designation ‘can create expectations for investment in infrastructure’.
Ulster Unionist party leader Philip Smith led the support for the proposals, saying he welcomed the increased bathing season and highlighted the many popular water- based activities, such as sailing to kayaking, enjoyed in the borough.
However, he highlighted that all of the borough’s bathing sites were on the Irish sea side of the coast and there was a ‘bit missing in terms of Strangford Lough’.
The Comber alderman proposed that Whiterock, in the Killinchy area, should also be considered as a designated bathing site as it was ‘very active’ for a wide range of water activities.
Green Party councillor Barry McKee welcomed the proposals saying he hoped they brought about ‘meaningful change’ as it would ‘not be the first time that a consultation comes through’ and then ‘sits on a shelf ’.
The Bangor West councillor said the changes were ‘more than needed’ to have a ‘fit for purpose regime’ that would provide better information and more quality testing. Said Mr McKee: “We shouldn’t have people taking a risk, they should be able to avail of all the facts before taking a dip.”
